Models BBH spin-orbit alignment as random walk on sphere, deriving exact distribution after n encounters and showing alignment survives several strong encounters before isotropy.
Precessional dynamics of black hole triples: binary mergers with near-zero effective spin
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abstract
The binary black hole mergers detected by Advanced LIGO/Virgo have shown no evidence of large black hole spins. However, because LIGO/Virgo best measures the effective combination of the two spins along the orbital angular momentum ($\chi_{\rm eff}$), it is difficult to distinguish between binaries with slowly-spinning black holes and binaries with spins lying in the orbital plane. Here, we study the spin dynamics for binaries with a distant black hole companion. For spins initially aligned with the orbital angular momentum of the binary, we find that $\chi_{\rm eff}$ "freezes" near zero as the orbit decays through the emission of gravitational waves. Through a population study, we show that this process predominantly leads to merging black hole binaries with near-zero $\chi_{\rm eff}$. We conclude that if the detected black hole binaries were formed in triples, then this would explain their low $\chi_{\rm eff}$ without the need to invoke near-zero spins or initially large spin-orbit angles.
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pyEFPEHM extends prior PN models to include higher-order quasi-circular phasing, generalized precession solutions, and eccentric corrections up to 1PN in selected multipoles for eccentric precessing binaries with matter effects.
citing papers explorer
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Getting Tilted: Random Walk of Binary Black Hole Spin-Orbit Alignment in Dense Star Clusters
Models BBH spin-orbit alignment as random walk on sphere, deriving exact distribution after n encounters and showing alignment survives several strong encounters before isotropy.
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Post-Newtonian inspiral waveform model for eccentric precessing binaries with higher-order modes and matter effects
pyEFPEHM extends prior PN models to include higher-order quasi-circular phasing, generalized precession solutions, and eccentric corrections up to 1PN in selected multipoles for eccentric precessing binaries with matter effects.